You know you’ve made it when you’re a Wikipedia star

You’ve definitely made it if you’ve got an entry in Wikipedia.

How do you measure success? It’s a difficult thing to pin down, but I’d say you’re a star if you’ve got your own page on the sprawling, constantly evolving online encyclopedia that is Wikipedia.

Unlike popular social networking sites, which allow you to post your own profile pages, Wikipedia has kept a firm control over such ego-building tactics. If you want to make it as a famous person on the Wiki, bear in mind that entries can’t include original research, must contain verifiable facts and should be written objectively. Entries can be updated, changed or removed by users.

So, if someone thinks you’re worthy, you’ll end up with your own page. In theory. Although you can just as quickly lose it, as Chelsea Kate Isaacs (a once-famous hand model) discovered; an entry on her achievements was added by an ardent chirophiliac, but removed after just a few days.

Wikipedia founder, Jim Wales, says:

“If someone is notable or successful in their field, they’ll end up in Wikipedia.”

And the number of biographical pages on the site is growing, fast. At last count, in September, there were 224,785 pages about living people on the site, up from 177,512 in January. As the eighth most popular destination for American Internet users, Wikipedia has a whopping 52 million unique visitors each month… or 210 million worldwide… so if you’re featured, you’re seen by the world.

Check out the list of famous New Zealanders who are now Wiki-stars and our own NZS.com famous people.